Several members of the class survived to the last day of steam on British Railways in 1968, and eighteen are preserved.

The Black Five was a mixed-traffic locomotive, a "do-anything go-anywhere" type, designed by Stanier, who had previously been with the GWR.

They shared a similar cylinder arrangement (two outside), internal boiler design and size and 6 foot driving wheel diameters.

These modifications included outside Caprotti valve gear, roller bearings (both Timken and Skefco types) on the coupled and tender axles in varying combinations, and an experimental steel firebox.

Other locomotives had modified draughting to "self clean" the smokebox (thereby reducing turn-around and disposal times and eliminating or mitigating one of the most unpopular jobs).

[12] The first 57 locomotives were built with domeless boilers with straight throatplates and a low degree of superheat (14 elements in two rows), the boilers of the remaining 13 (5007–5019) were provided with a three-row version (21 elements)[13] having greater total surface area and giving less obstruction to gas flow.

Further orders were placed with Crewe (5070–5074), Vulcan Foundry (5075–5124) and Armstrong Whitworth (5125–5224) for a total of 155 locomotives which were also built with domeless boilers with straight throatplates and 21 element superheaters.

Those marked with an asterisk were fitted with a boiler which had the top feed on the front ring on the date shown.

During the early stages of the Second World War, the priority was for heavy freight engines, and the closely related 8Fs were produced in large numbers.

On trial, it proved to have no advantage, although in normal service it did gain a reputation as a good performer on banks.

Some sources have noted that no photographic confirmation of this naming is extant,[28] although this is neither unique to the class, nor unexpected given restrictions on photography during wartime.

[29] The class remained intact until 1961 when 45401 was the first Black Five to be withdrawn from stock following a collision at Warrington, although the boiler was re-used and actually lasted to the end of steam on BR.

Some members of the class, 46 in total, survived to the last day of steam on BR in August 1968.

45318, a Lostock Hall based engine, hauled the last scheduled train on 3 August 1968; a Preston to Liverpool exchange.

both 45025 and 44086 are only able to operate on preserved lines although the latter is currently awaiting more work to its AWS and GSM-R equipment so it can run to Whitby.

Formerly named Magpie and later renamed to Kenneth Aldcroft[c] The engine is to also be mainline certified for use on Grosmont to Whitby trains.

[39] Part of the National Collection Oldest surviving member of the class Purchased from Severn Valley Railway by private owner in August 2023.

[41] Hauled Fifteen Guinea Special in August 1968,[38] and formerly named RAF Biggin Hill Boiler ticket expired in early September 2018 Owned by Ian Riley.

[43] Only surviving example having a boiler with top feed on the front ring in conjunction with Walschaerts valve gear.

W. Awdry and its television adaption Thomas and Friends, the character Henry the Green Engine, who was formerly based on flawed LNER Gresley A1 prototype designs, was rebuilt into a Black Five at Crewe Works after crashing into a goods train while pulling the Flying Kipper (a nightly fish train from Tidmouth, Sodor to Manchester) in 1935.